'Wheel of Fortune' fans call out player for fumbling 'easy' puzzle and losing out on a Ford car
"Wheel of Fortune" fans are consistent when it comes to calling out the show for throwing puzzles that are too difficult at contestants who have been playing well. But they don't spare players who get simpler puzzles and still fumble them. One contestant was called out after he fumbled a brand-new car in his Bonus Round, even though the answer was easy to guess, according to fans. The player, Andy Schwartz, was the first to lose a car since Ryan Seacrest took over as the host, and had started off showing a lot of promise. While Schwartz tried his best to get three words right, he eventually left the fans disappointed.
Schwartz was off to a great start and racked up a big lead with $6,250 in the bank while the other two contestants struggled to get off the mark. However, his competitor Goffstein made a comeback in the Express Round to win a trip to Iceland worth $8,500 and $18,000 in cash, according to Andy Nguyen's blog. On the other hand, Schwartz dug deep to fight back and eventually emerged as the big winner of the night with $26,250 in cash.
Advancing to the Bonus Round, he chose the category, "Phrase," for his final puzzle and brought along his wife, Kate, to the stage for support. With Seacrest beside him at the wheel, Schwartz picked out his Golden Envelope, and he faced a short three-word puzzle. With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E," on the board, he went on to choose, “C, H, M, and O,” as his additional letters. With everything on the board, the puzzle read, “_ _ SE_ ON _R_NC_ _LE.”
As Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, it seemed like Schwartz had figured out the last word but was at a loss for the first one. While he yelled out a few guesses, including “Always on principle,” “Gotta be principle,” “Wasn’t on principle,” none of them were correct. Seacrest then made a minor blunder as he told the player he had missed out, a little before the buzzer went off. “No, you’re so close,” the host cut in as Schwartz was making his last guess. Co-host, Vanna White, uncovered the answer, “Based On Principle," and Seacrest added to the heartbreak after revealing that Schwartz had lost out on driving home a brand new Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid.
While the player was disappointed to lose, fans too weren't happy at all. "An easy Ford automobile fail! At least this time, the car was offered this week!" commented @anenglishvillageforroberti2863 on YouTube. "This was an easy solve," added @mother-is-pink, expressing disappointment with the player's performance. Some even suggested that his letter picks were not up to the mark as well. "Had he called for the common C D M and A," explained, @PKMNwww411_MkII.
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